By Stjepan Sejic
Stjepan Sejic’s Death Vigil has been nothing short of fantastic from the word go. It’s got great characters, great action, and great design with tons of thought and depth to the whole thing, and because ‘great’ was already said too much, it has absolutely amazing art. The only unfortunate thing is that not enough people are reading this series, for one reason or another, and that problem needs to be rectified quickly!
Sejic’s crafting a deep story with tons of history and if his work on Ravine is any indication of his dedication—he spent many, many years figuring out all the history and religions for that series. Check out Volume Two out this week too—he’s undoubtedly spent countless days and weeks make sure everything is all connected together and it all makes sense. You can feel that as you read the story; it’s not just something slapped together to sell some books and move on. He cares, deeply, about this series and every little aspect of it. Right down to the amazing little speech bubbles that he uses to help express emotion, adding just a little something extra to the scene.
Now, if you’ve seen his work before or, chances are, if you’ve even heard his name before you know what to expect when it comes to his art. It could be said that Death Vigil might be some of his best work yet, maybe second to Ravine, and it shows with every little panel he crafts. Expressions are spot on, characters never look out of place or even mildly different, locations are varied and interesting and even simple things like adding a Cthulhu to a t-shirt adds layers to the characters and the book. Hell, speaking of, have you seen some of his monster designs? Is there any way we can have a Monster Design competition between him and Juan Ferreyra? Maybe Mike Mignola can judge?
In all seriousness and put as simply as possible: Death Vigil is amazing. This is a must read if you like monsters, and great art and great characters and, well, great comic books. Stjepan Sejic is the real deal and work like this deserves to sell Walking Dead numbers every time it comes out. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.
I’m personally very excited for volume 4, but you’re right, this series doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves. I really hope word of mouth and fan love may help it bring in the readers it deserves. Speaking of a versus, I think he and Joss Whedon should have a character depth competition. Both have such genuine in-depth characters. One day, I hope to see Stjepan’s characters on the big screen.
Not even close to what it deserves.